Rotary container sealing machine



June 26, 1962 H. E. STOVER ETAL 3,040,492

ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE A Trop/vg June 26, 1962 H. E. STOVER ETAL 3,040,492

' ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed April 1, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 l 4INVENTORS June 26, 1962 H. E. sTovER ETAL 3,040,492

ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 1, 1959 June 26, 1962 H. E. STOVER ETAL 3,040,492

ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed April l, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 AWO/(wey June 26, 1962 H. E. sTovER ETAL 3,040,492

l ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed April l. 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 vll/lll.

June 26, 1962 H. E. STOVER ETAL ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed April l. 1959 s sheets-sheet 6 INVENTORS H Trop/Vey June 26, 1962 I H. E. sTovl-:R ETAI. 3,040,492

ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed April l, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 XXS YLSA w, 23S um ,s w; .m m W.////,//////, 4 .auf i l Ill" 41:....Qin ww June 26, 1962 H. E. STOVER ETAL 3,040,492

ROTARY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed April l. 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 l ent types and shapes of containers and United States Patent 3,040,492Vv l norARY coNrAlNnR SEALING MACHINE Harry E. Stover and Arthur E. Watson, Lancaster, Ohio, l

Vassigno'rs to Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation, Lancaster,0liio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 1, ,1959. Ser. No. 803,508

.is Ciaims. (ci. ssa-ss) The present invention relates tothe container sealing art andl more particularly to'an improved rotary sealing machine particularly adapted for the high-speed application of lug and threaded-type closures to containers.`

Screw closures are generallyof the lug or continuousV threadtypes. The lng type requiresless than afull turn and the continuous thread requires a full turn or more to seal. Both types of closures have been sold in large quantities formany years and machines have been developed for the application of both types of closures. However, the machinery for applying these types of closures has not been as suitable either in speed or in forming satisfactory seals as sealingmachinesfor other types of closures-for example, those with gaskets in the the-.container while the product is being consumed. Many products are required to be hermetically sealed with a vacuum in the headspace to assure a long shelf life for" the products sealed and to avoid spoiled products reaching the consumer. u The present types of sealing machines for screw type closures do nothave the high speeds required foromass production Aof sealed packages of food products and they are not adapted to seal containers under a high vacuum at a high speed or adapted to accommodate easily difier- 4 ,p different types of seals. y

The present invention provides a high-speed machine for sealing .both continuous-thread and lug-type closures and at the samel times provides a machine which can b e readily converted fromone size or height of container or closure to another and from one type of sealing', such as a vacuum seal, to another, such as vapor sealing, with a minimum of time and effort. The present machine Will give the right amount of torque to preserve the product and at the same time not apply the closure with so much force that it cannotV be readily removed. The present machine will permit packers to apply screw or lug-type closures With the same speed that they have been accustomed heretofore in the application of caps which may be applied merely by downward.; pressure. In addition, Vthe Vcaps. are carefully positioned at the time of the screwing operation so that the threads or lugs on the closures do not cross the lugs or threads on the con- 3,040,492 Patented June Z6, 1962 Another object of the a high-speed rotary sealing machine which is quickly and easily adjusted for handling a Wide variety of closure and container sizes.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and 'various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the` invention in practice.

A preferred Vembodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown Vin the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein: y

FIG. l is a side elevational view of ment of the sealing machine;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View of the sealing machine;

.'FLG.- 3v is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of 2- illustrating the interior of the machine and the operation thereof;` FIIG3. 3a is a sectional view-taken along line 3ra- 3d of FIG. 4. is a horizontal sectional view of the container a preferred embodigripping means vtaken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

5 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed plan view ofa single pair of gripping jaws ofthe container gripping means of FIG. -4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View of the gripping jaws of FIG. 5. taken along lines 6.46 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7is a perspective view Aof the container gripping jaws of FIG. 5; l

FIG. 8. is a vertical sectional viewthrough apreferred embodimentY of the sealing head;

tainers but mesh accurately 'with them so that a proper seal is obtained. The containers are securely held in position during the screwing operation, and the closures are .carefully applied to the container to avoid breakage of imf.

proper seals. The machine is rugged in construction and i capable of continuous operation without breakdowns and up a .closure 14 from the closure feed star 91 is a `sectional view of the sealing head correspending to FIG. 8 with the elements in their sealing position; i

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional View of the sealing head corresponding to FIGS, 8 and 9` illustrating the sealing headl in its closure pick-up position;

FIG. '11 is a fragmentary view of the sealing head of FIG; 8 showing the sealing head stop means; u FIG. 12 is a horizontal sectional view through the sealing machine base taken along the line 12-12 of FIG. l illustrating the `sealing machine driving means; and

FIG.' 13 ,is a horizontal sectional View through the sealing machine ba'sfe taken along line 13-13 of FIG; `3 illustrating the gearing for the container and closure star wheels. v

' General Description Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the machine comprises a'base 1 having a conveyorlZ which '1s mounted on pulleys at the respective ends of extensions 4 attachedto the base -1 of the machine. Filled containers.6 areoplaced on the left hand end of` the conveyor '2 and a Ahelicoid 5 which is operatively coupled to the machine drive spaces the containers 6 onfthe conveyor 2 to place a container 6 into each'pocket 7 of thehori- Vzontal containerfeed star wheel 8'as illustrated in FIG. 2. The star wheel8 is driven in synchronism with the sealing `turret 9 4sol that each star wheel pocket 7 feeds a container 6 beneath a sealing head 10 on the sealing 'turret 9 'as the turret rotates about the central column 11 of the sealing machine. Each of the sealing heads l0 prior toits moving above a container 6 has picked wheel 12 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The closures 14 are fedv to the star wheel 12 from a suitable closure feed indicated generally at 15 in FIG. Vl. Suitable `closure feeds are commercially available. A

preferred closure feed is disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,863,588, which is owned by the assignee of present invention is to provide,

the present invention. This closure feed 15 feeds the closures 14 one at a time to the pockets 16 of the star wheel 12. Rotation of the star wheel 12 moves each of the closures 14 beneath a sealing head 10 where a magnet in the sealing head picks up the closure 14 from the star wheel 12 and carries it with the sealing head 10 as the sealing turret 9 rotates.

As each of the containers 6 is moved beneath the sealing turret 9, the container 6 is engaged by a pair of gripping jaws 17. As will be more fully described below, these gripping jaws 17 grip each container and position it beneath a sealing head 10 in such a position as to permit the subsequent attachment of the closures 14 to the containers 6. The closures 14 are attached by a simultaneous downward and rotary movement of the sealing head 10 as the sealing head 10 moves on its circular path about the central column 11. By the time that the sealing turret 9 has turned about its center column 11 so as to bring each sealing head 10 adjacent the exit star wheel 19, the sealing head 10 has applied the closure 14 to the container 6 and has been lifted clear of the sealed package 18. The gripping jaws 17 release the sealed package 18 to the pockets 2t) of the exit star wheel 19 which carries the sealed package 18 to the exit end of the conveyor 2.

As will be more fully described below, a hood is provided at the bottom of each sealing head which partially envelops the top of the container 6 and the closure 14 during the sealing operation. This hood is provided with suitable openings to admit a condensable vapor such as steam or an inert gas or a mixture of vapor and gas to the container headspace to provide a vacuum seal or to provide an inert headspace atmosphere as desired. By using a mixture of the gas and the condensable vapor having predetermined proportions, the vacuum in the sealed container may be set at adesired degree.

The parts described above and their operations are described in greater detail hereinafter under appropriate headings.

Drive In order to synchronize the operation of the various moving portions of the machine, these portions are driven by a single drive motor which is coupled through positive drive means to the various moving parts.

As illustrated in FIGS. l and l2, the preferred embodiment of the drive means comprises a drive motor 30 which is coupled by a suitable drive belt 31 and pulleys 32 and 33 to a right-angle drive and speed reduction unit 34. The output shaft 35 of the speed reduction unit 34 is coupled through gears 36 and 37 to the sealing turret 9, which is rotatably mounted upon the stationary column 11 on bearings 38 (FIG. 3). As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 13, the hubs 39, 40, and 41 for the star wheels S, 12, and 19, respectively, are driven from the sealing turret ring gear 37 through suitable gear trains 43, 44, and 45, respectively. The three star Wheels 8, 12, and 19 are thus moved in exact synchronism with the sealing turret 9 so that the feeding of the containers 6 into and out of the sealing turret 9 is synchronized with the movement of the individual sealing heads 10 on the sealing turret 9. The conveyor 2 is also coupled to the drive motor 30 by being coupled to the exit star wheel drive by a suitable gear and shaft system indicated generally at 46 in FIG. 2. Similarly, the helicoid 4 is synchronized with the conveyor 2 by being coupled to the input star wheel drive by a suitable gear and shaft system indicated generally at 47 in FIGS. l and 2. The base 1 as i1- lustrated in FIG. 3 may be formed as a suitable closed and sealedrreservoir to permit the gearing to run in a bath of lubricating oil.

A hand crank 130 is coupled to the drive pulley 32 by a chain 131 (FIG. 12) to adjust the eifective diameter of the drive pulley 32 to provide a speed adjustment for the machine.

4;. Sealing Turret Referring more particularly to FIG. 3, the rotary sealing turret 9 which mounts the sealing heads 10 illustrated as 16 in number, is rotatably mounted on the fixed central column 11. The sealing turret 9 includes a turntable 50 adapted to carry the containers 6 during the sealing operation in their arcuate path around the central column 11 from the input star wheel 8 to the output star wheel 19. The turntable 50 is attached to the hub 51 which is rotatably mounted on bearings 3S on the central column 11. Gripping jaws 17 are equally spaced about the periphery of the turntable 50, and these gripping jaws 17 are operated by a suitable cam means which will be more fully described below to engage the containers 6 and to position them on the turntable 56 during the sealing operation. A sealing head 10 is mounted above each of the gripping jaws 17 on a rotatable head 54 to apply the closures to the containers on the turntable 50. The rotatable head 54 is mounted on the bearings 55 on the collar member 56 which is fixedly attached to the upper portion of the central column 11.

Also rotatably mounted on the collar 56 is a vapor distributing manifold 57 which is adapted to supply vapor to each of the sealing heads 10 during a predetermined portion of the sealing operation as will be more fully described below in connection with the description of the vapor system. The rotatable head 54 is driven from the turntable 50 through the connecting rod 58, and the Vapor distributing manifold is driven from the rotating sealing heads 10 by the connecting rods 59 and the bracket members 60. Thus, as the turntable 50 is rotated by drive motor 30 through ring gear 37 on the turntable 50, the rotatable head 54 and its attached sealing heads 10 as well as the vapory distributing manifold 57 will all be rotated about the central column 11 in synchronism and with each sealing head 10 being aligned with a container 6 gripped in the corresponding pair of gripping jaws 17.

Fixedly mounted on the collar member 56 on the upper portion of the central column 11 are the sealing head positioning cam 61 and the closure pick-up cam 62. The sealing head positioning cam 61 has a lower cam portion 64 which operates to raise the sealing heads 10 to permit the positioning of the unsealed containers 6 beneath the heads and an upper cam portion 65 which thereafter provides the downward sealing pressure to apply the closure cap 14 to the container 6. The force applied by the upper sealing cam portion 65 is adjustably controlled by the vertical pressure spring 66 to provide the proper torque for the application of .the threaded or lug closure to the container.

The cam surface 67 for the closure pick-up cam 62 lowers a closure pick-up magnet 86 on the sealing head 1t) as the sealing head 10 rotates past the closure supply star wheel 12 to cause the magnet 86 to attract and hold a closure in the lower end of the sealing head 10. The cam 62 is pivotally mounted on an arm 68 attached to a mounting bracket 69. Adjustable nuts 70 position the cam 62 to provide a suitable adjustment of the cam position for diiferent closure heights.

Also ixedly mounted on the collar member 56 at the upper portion of the central column 11 is a sealing head drive gear 74 which engages a chuck driving gear 75 on each of the sealing heads 10 so that the closure applying chucks S2 of the sealing heads 10 are rotated as the sealing turret 9 turns about the central column 11 to provide the chuck rotation to screw the closure caps 14 into place on the containers 6 as the sealing heads 10 are lowered by the control cam 65,

Removal of either the gears 75 or the drive gear 74 permits the chucks 82 to be used for the application of caps by downward pressure only without rotation as is done with side seal, top seal, friction or other nonthreaded closure caps.

, Sealing Heads Referring more particularly to FIGS. 8-10, a preferred embodiment of a sealing head 10 is illustrated. The chuck 82 of each ofthe sixteen sealing heads 10.l picks up a closure 14 at the closure feed star wheel 12 and applies it to a' container 6 beingk moved beneath it on the turntable 50. Prior to and during the application ofthe closure .14 to the container, a condensable vapor is admitted from the sealing head hood to the container headspace to form a vacuum therein or an inert gas may be admitted toV the container headspace to form' an inert atmosphere within the sealed container.

Each sealing head 10 comprises an outer cylindrical member 76 xedly attached to the outer edge of the rotatable head portion 54 of the sealing turret 9. Slidably mounted forver-tical reciprocable movement within each of the outer cylindrical members 7 6 is a cylindrical hood support 77 having a hollow cup-shaped hood 78 attached at its lower e'nd. The purpose of the hood 78 is to partially enclose each ofthe tops of the containers 6 during the sealing operation and to admit thevacuum forming vapor or the inert gas to the container headspace.

`The vertical position of the hood 78 with respect to eachY of the containers 6 is controlled by the cam roller 79 rotatablymounted on the hood support 77 and engaging the cams 64 and 65 of the hood positioning cam 61.

The hollow cylindrical hood support 77 also mounts a .chuck rotating shaft 80 on ybearings 81 which has a'chuck 82 atti-ached toits lower end. The -shaft 80 and its connected chuck 82 are rotated by the chuck driving gear 75 which is attached to the upper end of the chuck rotating shaft 80 and which meshes with the stationary drive gear 74. As the sealing head 1l) rotates about the central column 11, the chuck driving gear 75 is turned by the stationary drive gear 74.

A closure 14 is picked up from the closure feed star `wheel 12 by a magnet 86 mounted on the lower end of `of the cap magnet support rod 87 and is held by the magnet against a resilient friction ring member 88 on the lower surface of the chuck 82. At the point of gpick-up when the magnet 86 passes the closure feed star wheel 12, the magnet is lowered adjacent to the star wheel 12 by the action of cam 67 on the support rod S7 to Vfacilitate the lifting of the closure 14against ring 88 as illustrated in FIG. l0.

Whenthe container 6 is rst moved beneath a sealing head 10 by the input star wheel, the closure 14 and the hood 78 are in their raised positions as illustrated in PIG. 8. l This position of the hood 78 is xed bythe cooperating cam roller 79 on the chuck support 77 and thecam 64. As `the sealing head 10 continues its rotation about the central. column 11, cooperating cams 64 and 65 lower the hood '178` towards the container 6. As the closure 14 approaches the upper portion ofthe container 6 to the position illustrated in FIG, A11 steam-vapor or gas is admitted into `the container headspace from the ports 90 spaced around the edges of the hood 7S. The vapor or gas displaces the air in the container -headspace while further rotation of the sealing head 10 causes cooperating. cam portionsy 64 and 65 to further lower the hood support 77, as `illustrated in FIG. 9, to cause the closure to be screwed onto the container 6 by the continuously rotating chuck 82.. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the cam portion 65 is pivotally mounted at 91 on arm 92 and a .spring 66 applies `the downward sealing force to the chuck 82., The spring force is `adjusted by nuts 94 to the desired value.

Certainclosures require less downward sealing force than others. In some cases the weight of the sealing y head 10 is suicient alone so that the cam portion 65 is not used. Other closures preferably use a sealing yforce which is less than the weight of the sealing head 10. 4For these closures a spring-loaded stop 95 is provided on each of the sealing heads as is illustrated in FIG. 11. The

stop 95 permits the downward sealing forces of each head to be individually adjusted. The stop 95 comprises a resilient abutment member 96 slidably mounted on a Vertical rod 97 above a spring 9S which urges the resilient abutment member 96 upwardly so that it engages a fixed -abutment 99 on the sealing head lil. A threaded adjustment member 98a engages the lower portion of the spring 9S and compresses the spring 98 the desired amount to control the downward sealing force of the sealing head 10 when the fixed -abutment 99 engages the resilient abutment 96 while the sealing head is in its lowered closure applying positionfv raises the hood support 77 so that the hood '78 moves clear of the sealed container 18 (FIG. 3) permitting the sealed container 18 to be moved from beneath the sealing hood "i3 to the conveyor 2 by the exit star wheel 19'.

As the sealing head 1u continues its travel towards the closure feed star Wheel 12 to begin the next sealing cycle, the cam 67 engages the upper end of the cap magnet support rod 87 and again moves it downwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 10, against the force of the spring 93 causing the magnet 86 to attract a closure cap 14 from the adjacent pocket 16 of the closure feed star wheel 12. As the sealing head 1t)l moves away from the closure feed star wheel 12, cam 67 permits the closure magnet support rod 87 to rise up to its normal position under the influence of spring 93 so that the closure 14 is drawn upwardly against the friction ring 83 of the chuck 82 in preparation for another of the above-described sealing operations.

A roller 79r mounted on the chuck support 77 rides in a slot 76 in cylindrical member 76 to maintain the hood 7 8 in axial alignment.

The chuck 82 is intentionally provided with a smallV amount of vertical play to permit the lugs or threads of the closure to engage the threads of the container with a minimum amount of force. This play is provided as illustrated in FIG. 8 wherein the shaft 86* is provided with a small amount ,of clearance with relation to the upper and lower thrust bearings Sdn and Sli/tb, respectively, and wherein a spring member SGC normally urges the shaft 30 upwardly but permits a slight downward movement of the shaft Sil when the chuck 82 is turning a closure into its sealed-position.

The Container Grpping M @uns 1n order to precisely position each container 6 on the turntable 5l) during the sealing operation and also to prevent rotation of the containers 6 as the closure caps 14 are screwed on, a set of container grippingrjaws 1'7 is provided beneath each of the sealing heads 1d. These gripping jaws 17 are illustrated in FIGS. 4-7. Each `of the pair of gripping jaws 17 is mounted on the Vturntable 50 inwardly of the container seating surface in such a position that the containers 6 are moved between the open gripping jaws 17 by the container feed star wheel 8 as' illustrated in FIG. 4. Each of the gripping jaws 17 comprises a fixed jaw member 1041 and a movable jaw member 101. The fixed jaw member 11N) is rigidly attached to the turntable 50' =by a suitable fastening means 104. The movable jaw member 101 is attached to the turntable Sli bya vertical shaft 105 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 106. A crank arm 168 is iixedly attached at one end to the sha-it. 1115 and a cam roller 169 is rotatably mounted on its other end to control the position of the movable jaw 101. The `cam roller 1i9'-rides p in a ycam groove in the circular cam member 111.

,.7 11S moves the cam roller 169 outwardly of the turntable 50, thereby opening the gripping jaws 17 and permitting the sealed container 1S to be moved off the turntable 56 by the rotating exit star wheel 19.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the movable jaw member lili is mounted on the upper end of the shaft 1&5. The upper portion of the shaft 165 comprises a torsion bar 16511 to provide a resilient clamping action of the jaws 17 on the containers 6 and to compensate for variations in container size. The movable jaw member lill is adjustably connected to the upper portion of the torsion bar 16551 by means of the disc member 111 which is fixedly attached at the top of the torsion bar member mda and which has arcuate slots lf3 for the bolts lf2 which adjustably connect it to the jaw lill. The movable meniber 191 is positioned by slots lf3 so that the torsion bar 16551 is oxed when the clamp 17 is in its fully engaged position whereby a tight grip is obtained upon the container 6 and whereby the flexing action of the torsion bar llSa compensates for minor differences in the container sizes. A suitable cover plate 115 is mounted over the top of the disc 111.

A removable insert 117 is mounted at the end of the jaw member 161. Various differently shaped inserts are provided as necessary t0 conform to the particular containers being handled. Suitable facings 117a and 116 are provided on the gripping portion of the arm 101 and the arm ltltl, respectively.

Vacuum Control As described above, a vapor or gas distribution means is provided for the sealing heads 3 0 in order to inject a condensable vapor or a gas or a mixture thereof into the headspaces of the containers 6 during the sealing operation. As illustrated in FIG. 8, this distribution system comprises annular channels 126 in the hoods 7 5 having output ports 9d adjacent to the lower edge of the closure cap 14 held against the chuck 82. The annular vapor distributing channels 126` communicate with an outlet 121 in each of the hoods 78 and each of these outlets 121 is connected by suitable tubing 122 (FlG. 3) to correspondingly spaced outlets 124 on the movable vapor distributing manifold 57 at the top of the central column 111. The manifold 57 which rotates with the sealing heads lll has its upper surface 125 in communication with a mating surface 126 on a stationary Vapor manifold llZS. An arcuate vapor distributing port 126 (FIG. 3a) with an inlet 127 in the stationary manifold 12S is positioned to communicate with each of the outlets 124 in the rotating manifold for a predetermined portion of their circular travel about the central column 11 so that vapor is admitted to the sealing hoods 78 for a predetermined portion of the sealing operation from the time that a closure 14 is positioned by the sealing head above the container 6 as illustrated in FIG. 8 until the closure 14 is applied to the container 6 as illustrated in FIG. 9. This causes the container headspace to be vapor lled as the seal is made whereby the subsequent condensation of the vapor within the sealed container creates a vacuum in the container headspace. Similarly, the container headspace may be filled 'with an inert gas or a mixture of gas and vapor depending upon the source to which the inlet 127 is connected.

Operation The operation of the sealing machine which has been described in detail abovein connection with the description of the principal parts will now be summarized.

The machine is readied for operation by suitable adjustment of the conveyor guide rails and the installation or changing, if necessary, of the closure feed star wheels 8 and 19 and the cap feed star wheel 12. Each of the sealing heads is readied for operation by the installation of suitable chucks 82 and hoods 78 ou the lower end of each of the sealing heads 10. In order to provide for the proper downward force for each sealing head 1t) with the particular container height being used, the spring 66 on the cam 65 is adjusted so that the cam 65 imparts the proper sealing torque to the sealing head 1G and the chuck 82 through the cam roller 79 to insure a complete seal without damaging the closure or the container. The height of the cam 62 which operates the magnetic cap pick-up is adjusted by means of the adjustment nuts 7) so that the closure pick-up magnet S6 is moved adjacent to the closures 14 as they are fed to the sealing heads by the closure feed star wh el 12..

ln order to assure a proper centering of the containers 6 beneath the sealing heads 1G and to secure the containers 6 against rotation during the sealing operation, each of the container gripping jaws 17 is adjusted by properly setting the position of the movable jaw member 101 as desc 1bed more fully above.

The sealing operation of the machine will now be described by following the paths of a container 6 and a closure le through a sealing operation. The filled containers 6 are placed by automatic means or by hand on the left-hand end of the conveyor 2, which carries them successively into the container spacing helicoid 5 and the container feed star Wheel 8. The pockets 7 of the container feed star wheel 8 carry the containers in spaced relationship beneath the individual sealing heads 10 on the rotating sealing turret 9. As illustrated in FlG. 4, the containers (i are moved onto the rotating turntable 5t) adjacent to an open-pair of gripping jaws 17'. The cooperating cam roller 109 and cam groove 110 next closes the jaw `lf as indicated at 17 on FIG. 4 so that the container 6 is tightly gripped and is centered beneath the corresponding hood 75 of a sealing head it). The relationship of the container 6 and the sealing head 10 at this point is illustrated in FIG. 8. Further rotation of the sealing turret 9 moves the roller 79 along the surface of the cam 64 and beneath the cam 65. These cooperating cams lower the sealing head so that the sealing hood 73 partially envelops the container 6 as illustrated in FIG. 1l. As the hood is being lowered to the position illustrated in FlG. 1l, the vapor distributing manifold injects a stream of vaporrunder the lower edge of the closure 14 and into the headspace of the container 6, and this injected vapor replaces the air at these locations. The closure 14 at this point is being held tightly against the friction ring 88 on the sealing chuck 82 by magnet 86 and the constantly rotating sealing chuck S2 turns closure 14 so that the closure 14 is screwed onto the container 6 when the sealing head 16 is lowered by cam 65 by further rotation of the sealing turret 9 as is illustrated in FIG. 9. After the closure 14 is fully seated on the container 6, further rotation of thesealing turret 9 moves the sealing heads 10 to a raised portion of the cam 64 so that the sealing hood 7S is lifted clear of the sealed container 18 as illustrated in FIG. 3. At this point the gripping jaws 17 are opened by the cam groove 110, and the container exit star wheel 19 carries sealed container 18 to the exit end of the conveyor 2.

Although the preferred embodiment of this sealing machine is particularlyr adapted `for applying threaded or lu -type closures, the machine may also be used to apply other types of closures, for example press-on closures. When the machine is used for press-on closures, the drive means for the closure applying chucks 82 is disconnected. This may be done conveniently by removing or disengaging the sealing head drive gear '74 or the individual chuck driving gears 75. When lthe machine is used for applying press-on closures, the containers on the turntable Si) do not need to be tightly gripped as there is no twisting motion such as is present when screw-on closures are applied. ln thiscase, therefore, the gripping jaws 17 may be adjusted to only loosely contain and position the container 6 or the gripping jaws may be replaced by a suitable container positioning star wheel fixedly mounted on the rotating turret 50.

closure applying means and adapted to partially envelop c the top 'of a container, and cam means operatively connected to said closure applying means and to said hoods to simultaneously control the position of said closure applying means and said hoods whereby the closure applying means successively apply closures to containers while the surrounding hoods partially envelop the upper portions of the containers, vapor distributing means in each of said hoods, and-a container gripping means on said container table beneath each of said hoods adapted to engage and position containers withtrespect to said chucks and to hold changes in closure and container size and shape. An. imi portant improvement feature in `this connection is the provision of individually adjustable container gripping means which provides for an exact positioning and a tight gripping "*of the containers during the closure applying action.

As described more fully above, the sealing machine may also be` used for press-on type closures as well as for threaded or lug-type closures so that the sealing machine of this invention may be used in applications where it is necessary or desirable to periodically change the sealing operation from threaded closures or lug-type closures to press-on closures.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the Spiritand scope of the invention and Without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to bewunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1.` In a sealing machinefor threaded containers, the combination of a rotary sealing means, means to feed containers to said sealing means at one position, means to remove containers from 'a second position spaced Vfrom said one position, means to move containers between said positions, a plurality of rotating closure applying means on said rotary sealing means adapted to screw closures to threaded containers, means to feed threaded-type closures to 'said closure applying means, a container gripping means on saidtsealing means adjacent said container moving means adapted to engage a container intermediate said positions and to retain it on said container moving means and to locate it beneath one of said closure applying means and to prevent its rotation during the screwing on of a closure by said closure applying means and a vapor distributing means on each of said closure applying means adapted to distribute vapor beneath the under side of the closure and into the container headspace before the screwing on of the closure. Y

2. In a rotary sealing machine for threaded and lugtype closures the combination of a rotary sealing means, a plurality of closure applying means mounted on said rotary sealing means for circular motion therewith, a rotatably mounted closure applying chuck on eachof said closure applying means, a vapor distributing means surrounding each of said chucks, drive means for said/,closure applying chucks, adjustable pressure means connected to said chucks controlling the torque applied to the closures by the chucks, a gripping means'on said rotary sealing means positioned beneath each of said closure applying chucks adapted to engage a container on said rotary seall ing means to retain it thereon and to 4center it beneath the closure applying chuck thereabove, cam means operatively connected to said gripping means adapted to close said gripping means on a container to hold it on said sealin'g means and to restrict it against movement as the closure applying means screws a closure onto a gripped container. l

3. In a sealing machine the combination of a rotary sealing turret, a plurality of closure applying heads mounted on said sealing turret for circular motion therewith, a rotatable container table beneath said turret, a rotatable closure applying means mounted in each of said closure applying heads adapted to releasably retain a closure, a hollow hood member surrounding each of said the containers on 'said table during their movement thereon and against rotation as the closures are applied to said containers. Y

4. In a rotary sealing machine for threaded and lugtype closures the combination of arrotary sealing means, means to feed containers to said sealing means, means to remove containers from said sealing means, a plurality of closure applying means mounted in spaced relation on said rotary sealing means each adapted to describe a circular motion therewith, a rotatably mounted closure applying chuck mounted on each of said closure applying means, Aadjustable pressure means connected to each of said chucks to control the downward force of said chucks on the closures, a drive means for each of said closure applying chucks, a gripping means on said rotary sealing'means positioned beneath each of said closure applying chucks adapted to engage a container and to center it beneath said closure applying chuck, a cam xedly mounted on said sealing machine, a cam follower means yoperatively 'connected to said gripping means adapted to close said gripping means on a container at said container feeding means and to release it at said container removing means to hold said container on said sealing means and against rotational movement as the closure applying means screws a closure onto a gripped container and a vapor distributing means on each of said closure applying means adapted to distribute vapor at the gripped container before and during the application of the closure.

5. In a rotary sealing machine for applying closures to containers, a container feed means, a container removal means, container gripping means adapted to simultaneously position and grip the containers beneath a rotary sealing turret comprising the combination of a turntable, a plurality of container gripping jaws mounted in spaced relationship on the periphery of said turntable, each of said gripping jaws comprising a pair of jaw members mounted on said turntable, at least one of said jaw members being pivotally mounted on said turntable adjacent to said other jaw member, and an operating means for said pivotallyvmounted jaw member adapted to `move said pivotally mounted jaw member towards said `other jaw member comprising a generally circular cam mounted generally concentrically of said turntable, a. cam roller adapted to engage said cam, a crank arm includin'g a tort sion bar connecting said pivotally mounted jaw mem-ber and said roller whereby said cam controls the position of said movably mounted jaw member in accordance With the movement of said turntable and said cam positioned to close said jaw members at said feed means and open them at said removal means.

6. In a rotary sealing machine for applying closures to containers, a container feedmeans, a container removal means, container gripping means adapted to simultaneously position and grip the containers beneath a rotary sealing turret comprising the combination of a turntable mounted concentrically with the sealing turret, a plurality of container gripping jaws mounted in spaced relationship on the periphery of said turntable, each of said gripping jaws comprising a stationary jaw member Xedly attached Vto said turntable and a movable jaw member pivotally mounted on said turntable adjacent to said fixed jaw member, and a jaw member operating means for said movable jaw member comprising a generally circular cam mounted generally concentrically with said turntable, aY

spannen cam roller adapted to engagel said cam, a crank means connecting said movable jaw member and said roller whereby said cam controls the position of said movably mounted jaw member in accordance with the position of said turntable, said cam positioned to close said jaw members at said feed means and open them at said removal means, said crank means including a spring member whereby said containers are resiliently gripped in said jaws and said gripping jaws further comprising a generally vertical shaft rotatably mounted on said turntable, said movable jaw member being adjustably positioned at the upper end of said shaft whereby the grip of each of said gripping means may lbe adjusted to accommodate a container of a 'given diameter, said crank means being connected at one end to said shaft and at its other end to said cam roller, and said spring member comprising a torsion bar forming at least a portion of said vertical shaft.

7. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 6 in which at least one of said jaw members includes an interchangeable gripping member adapted to resiliently engage a container gripped by said gripping jaws during its travel between said feed means and said removal means.

8. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 2 in which said adjustable pressure means comprises a cam operatively connected to each closure applying means and a spring resiliently urging said cam and said closure applying means downwardly.

9. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 2 in which said adjustable pressure means comprises a resilient stop member positioned to engage each closure applying means to partially support it while the chuck screws a closure onto the container.

10. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 4 in which said ladjustable pressure means comprises a cam operatively connected to each closure applying means and a spring resiliently urging said cam and said closure applyingV means downwardly.

11. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 4 in which said adjustable pressure means comprises a resilient stop member positioned to engage each closure applying means to partially support it while the chuck screws a closure onto the container.

12. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said adjustable pressure means comprises a resilient member positioned beneath each of said closure applying means and ixedly mounted on said sealing machine, said resilient member being positioned to engage the closure applying means to support a portion of its weight whereby the sealing force on the closures is less than the weight of the closure applying means.

13. The sealing machine as claimed in claim 12 in which said pressure means comprises an adjustably compressed spring member.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,026,118 Barnby Dec. 31, 1935 2,082,048 Everett June 1, 1937 2,126,942 Barnby Aug. 16, 1938 2,227,190 Kronquest Dec. 31, 1940 2,510,568 Fouse lune 6, 1950 2,610,779 Fouse Sept. 16, 1952 2,655,302 Hohl et al. Oct. 13, 1953 2,810,249 Wysocki Oct. 22, 1957 2,889,674 Hamilton et al. June 9, 1959 

